title: Osteopenia in the men of a Veterans Administration nursing home.
abstract: We measured by photon absorptiometry the bone density at six sites in 65 nursing home men aged 57-85 y and in 25 independent community men aged 57-80 y. Average bone density in the community men ranged from 97% to 105% of age-matched normal men. In the nursing home men these values ranged from 71% to 92% of age-matched normal men (p less than 0.05 for comparison with the community men). About 50% of the nursing home men but none of the community men had a value less than 70% of age-matched normal men at one or more sites. Among the institutionalized men bone densities at all six sites (in g/cm2) were significantly (p less than 0.05) and directly correlated with body weight but were not significantly correlated with height, age, principal or secondary diagnoses, continuing medications, or functional level.
authors.affiliation: Medical Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, North Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Nagraj
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Gergans
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Mattson
authors.forename: I W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Rudman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rudman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans